Paper thickness is commonly measured in mils. One (1) mil equals 1/1000th of an inch (.001 inches). If you know the number of mils your paper contains it is easy to calculate the storage capacity of your box.
Using a sheet of Acid-Free Tissue paper between photographs or placing each photograph inside of a Crystal Clear Bag™ will reduce the storage capacity of the box. Listed below are examples of how to calculate the storage capacity of your box if you add tissue paper or place each photo inside of a ClearBag™.
Example: Your photographs are printed on 10 mil paper.
- 1 mil = .001 inches
- 10 mils = .001 * 10 = .010 inches
- 3.0 inches (depth of the photo storage box) divided by .010 (paper thickness) = 3.0 / .010 = 300
Your storage box will hold 300 sheets of 10 mil paper
Example: One sheet of tissue between prints
Step One – Determine the thickness of your print and 1 sheet of Acid-Free Tissue
- Your photographs are printed on 10 mil paper.
- 10 mils = .001 * 10 = .010 inches
- You use 1 sheet of acid free tissue for each print.
- 1 sheet of acid free tissue is 1 mil or .001 inches thick
- .010 inches + .001 inches = .011 (thickness of 1 print and 1 tissue)
Step Two – Calculate the storage capacity of your box.
- 3.0 inches (depth of the photo storage box) divided by .011 (thickness of print plus tissue) = 3.0 / .011 = 273
Your storage box will hold approximately 273 prints with acid free tissue paper between each print
Example: Each print in a Crystal ClearBag™
Step One – Determine the thickness of your print and ClearBag™
- Your photographs are printed on 10 mil paper.
- 10 mils = .001 * 10 = .010 inches
- One ClearBag™ is 1.6 mil or .0016 inches thick.
- .010 inches + .0016 inches = .0116 (thickness of 1 print and 1 ClearBag™)
- 3.0 inches (depth of the photo storage box) divided by .0116 (thickness of print plus ClearBag™) = 3.0 / .0116 = 259
Step Two – Calculate the storage capacity of your box.
Your storage box will hold approximately 259 prints enclosed in ClearBags™